With the last week of school complete, students in the Mohawk Valley might be hitting the “summer slide” — and it’s not something found on a playground.

“The summer slide is when kids get out of school, if they’re not reading during the summer and not engaged in reading type activities they’re starting to lose what they learned during the school year,” said Carol Desch, coordinator of statewide library services.

The loss isn’t just in reading; students can lose math and other skills as well.

Every year, most youth lose about two months of grade-level equivalency in math skills over the summer and low-income youth lose more than two months of reading achievement, according to the National Summer Learning Association.

“All kids have off for the summer and the kids that come from poor homes and poor districts have nothing to do over the summer,” said Jeanne Clements, an educator and founder and creator of Verbal Education, a learning vocabulary system and interactive game.

Kids from more advantaged families often go to summer camp where they grow academically, Clements said.

“The lucky kids who have the summer opportunities, they’re going back to school and they’re going to hit the ground running,” she said. “The kids who did not, they’re going to go back to school and they will be behind. They never catch up.”

It’s not just a loss over the two months, but the students finish two months behind and then lose an additional two months the next summer, Clements said.

The slide backward starts in second or third grade and grows until high school, she said.

Reinforcing, growing

Summer should be spent reinforcing important concepts students learned during the year,” said Patrice Hallock, Utica College Education Department chair.

Hallock’s advice: “Read, read, read.”

Parents should chose a book that has challenging vocabulary, to help students improve their reading skills, Clements said. For high school students, it’s important to start growing vocabulary skills during the summer — not a month before the SAT’s, she said.

There are a number of local programs and resources available for parents such as local library programs. Another low-cost and sometimes free resource: going on field trips, Hallock said.

Taking children to state parks, on hikes, or to local attractions such as Fort Stanwix in Rome can help them make connections and build background knowledge, she said.

“The more active they are and engaged in these different kinds of experience outside the classroom, the more they’ll have to build upon their academic knowledge,” she said.

David Trevisani of New Hartford has his 11-year-old daughter, Mia, go to the Kumon Math and Reading Center of New Hartford after school.

Page 2 of 2 - “It’s probably more valuable over the summer than any other time because the kids are idle. To keep up her skill level and to just practice is really ideal,” he said.